06/16/2025
Mayor Obar officially retires from City Commission on June 10
Mayor Arthur Obar officially retired from the Graceville City Commission on Tuesday, June 10. Starting the morning with a small event hosted at city hall entitled Muffins with the Mayor, Mayor Obar spent the morning reminiscing on years past. A local businessman, civic club member and volunteer, Mayor Obar has made a name for himself as a man who shows up for the community even when no one is looking.
Mayor Obar began his career as City Commissioner in 2001. That January, then-City Commissioner Rob Martin announced his resignation due to his family moving outside of city limits. Mayor Obar had run against Martin for the seat in a previous election and was appointed to take the seat until the next election cycle. He smiled commenting, “It’s been an ole competition since.”
With more two decades of serving as commissioner and many years as Mayor, Mayor Obar has seen and been through many ups and downs with the City. When asked about some of those good memories, he smiled noting, “It’s all been good. Having to travel to Tallahassee and DC for different events to represent the city, that’s always been a pleasure.”
When asked what he has enjoyed most he commented, “Everybody has been pretty cordial throughout the years and it’s been enjoyable watching everybody thrive and watching the city grow.” He added with a laugh that he also enjoyed, “The meetings… and the uncertainty of what is going to be said and done in those meetings.”When asked what he is most proud of from his years as commissioner, Mayor Obar commented, “ The things we have now, a lot of the grants are in the ground that the citizens don’t see… the millions of dollars in grants that Graceville has benefited from is tremendous over the last 20 something years.” He went on to add that he hopes even more “growth and economic development” is in Graceville future.
With more than two decades of experience under his belt, Mayor Obar gave some advice to the next individual that will take on the role of Graceville Mayor stating, “Stay involved and stay involved with the county. It is very important that you attend those meetings and develop a relationship with our county officially because they are a big help.”
When asked about retirement, Mayor Obar commented that he planned to “just take it a day at a time.” He finished, “It has been an honor and pleasure to serve the people of Graceville.”
